Zopa acquires DivideBuy in “BNPL 2.0” push
Zopa’s “BNPL 2.0” offering will allow consumers to spread the cost of purchases worth between £250 and £30,000.
FinTech
Ecuador’s first digital bank goes live with Temenos core
Diners Club Ecuador has gone live on Temenos’ cloud-native banking platform with AWS.
Saudi fintech Hala acquires UAE paytech Paymennt.com
Maher Loubieh, co-founder of Hala, says Paymennt’s product was a “clear fit” with their own strategy.
UK fintech Deko hires Joseph Tucker as new CFO
Tucker joins from NewDay, which acquired Deko in January 2020.
Dubai’s VARA outlines new virtual asset framework
VARA says the new framework will offer “regulatory certainty”, giving market participants greater clarity.
Confronting confrontation
If you don’t like confrontation, get better at it. So you can at least only have it once and move on.
African ID verification platform Smile Identity nabs $20m Series B
The latest funding round brings Smile Identity’s total capital raised to date to $31 million.
NewDay taps Checkout.com to streamline debit card payments
The partnership, which is already live, gives NewDay access to Checkout.com’s full suite of payment products.
Aussie fintech Shift lands $18m in Series C funding
Shift provides a credit and payments platform for Australian businesses.
New “cross-border neobank” in India: moneyHOP
FinTech Futures sits down for a chat with Mayank Goyal, founder and CEO of moneyHOP.
Dragonfly makes C-level hires as firm expands partnerships and portfolio
Alongside the senior appointments, the firm says it has also expanded its development and product teams.
Digital asset infrastructure provider Taurus lands $65m Series B
Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Pictet Group and Arab Bank Switzerland all participated in the round.
India’s PhonePe nets additional $100m in ongoing fundraise
The new capital infusion follows a $350 million fundraise from General Atlantic last month.
What the FinTech? | S.4 Episode 2 | Space Bank and financial inclusion
In this episode, we’re joined by Nika Kurdiani, deputy CEO at TBC Bank and CEO of Space International.
Laurentian Bank launches new credit card programme with Brim Financial
Laurentian Bank says the new credit card programme will “enhance the overall experience” of its customers.
NatWest Group snaps up UK fintech Cushon for £144m
The acquisition will enable NatWest to offer its commercial customers a suite of financial wellbeing products.
Singapore’s Aspire lands $100m in Series C funding
With the new funding, Aspire plans to build out its product offering and expand its regional presence.
Ex-Plaid exec Keith Grose joins Sequence as COO
Prior to joining Sequence, Grose served as head of UK for Plaid for four years.
Paysafecard CEO Udo Mueller departs firm
Mueller will focus on “helping other companies and entrepreneurial fintech enthusiasts in their growth ambitions”.
Swiss digital asset fintech Scrypt names Marc Wäckerlin as CTO
Most recently, Wäckerlin was CTO and executive director at Swiss crypto bank Sygnum.
Banking Tech Awards 2022 Winner: Updraft – Best Digital Initiative for Lending
Reinventing financial planning and disrupting unsecured lending markets.
Ziglu founder and CEO Mark Hipperson resigns
Hipperson will remain on Ziglu’s board as a part-time non-executive director.
UAE’s central bank launches financial services digital transformation programme
The UAE is aiming to become a “financial and digital payment hub”.
FIS reveals plans to spin off merchant business unit
FIS expects the spin-off to be completed within the next 12 months.
Baiduri Bank taps Finbots.ai to modernise credit risk management
The partnership makes Baiduri the first bank in Brunei to migrate to an AI-led credit risk management solution.
Ghana’s Fortek partners Codebase for Digibanc platform
It is hoped the partnership will “accelerate digitisation” and boost entrepreneurship in Africa.
Cartoon: À la carte
A new cartoon illustrating how the drop in VC money may result in new fintech start-ups being acquired.
The future of financial services depends on global connectivity
To establish interoperability in global payments, a balance must be struck between collaboration and competition.
ICYMI fintech funding round-up: Fierce, Wisor AI, Cenoa & Habitto
Our weekly In Case You Missed It (ICYMI) funding round-up for you to get the latest funding news.
PayPal CEO Dan Schulman to retire by end of 2023
PayPal says it will begin its search for Schulman’s successor imminently.
FinTech Futures: Top five stories of the week – 10 February 2023
Here’s our pick of five of the top news stories from the world of finance and tech this week.
Digital asset security firm Coincover bags $30m in funding
The funding will be used to boost recruitment, forge new partnerships and develop new products.
Lunar lands €35m in fresh funding to boost Nordic expansion
Most of Lunar’s existing investors took part in the funding round, the neobank says.
FinTech Futures Jobs: The top fintech companies hiring right now in the UK
Explore thousands of open roles on the Fintech Futures Job Board today.
US fintech funding round-up: Wink, Blip, Upwardli and Inkle
A handy round-up of the recent funding endeavours of fintech companies across the US.
Europe fintech funding round-up: Kennek, Mazepay, Uniify and Snab
Our weekly fintech round-up for you to get the latest funding news from around the world.
Finzly opens up access to FedNow via API connection
Developers from fintechs and banks can now access the sandbox environment of FedNow via Finzly’s API.
Deutsche Börse inks 10-year strategic partnership deal with Google Cloud
Deutsche Börse will leverage Google Cloud’s capabilities to develop its digital securities platform D7.
UK’s FCA names first members of its new innovation advisory group
The Innovation Advisory Group (IAG) will meet for the first time in February, the FCA says.
European Parliament outlines plans for an EU-wide digital wallet
The use of the EU wallet will “always be voluntary”, MEPs say.
